TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s
By Jay Leno
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED
the 1930s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s
By Jay Leno
First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while
they were pregnant.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can and didn't
get tested for diabetes.
Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs
covered with bright colored lead-based paints.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and
when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks
we took hitchhiking.
As infants and children we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster
seats, seat belts or air bags.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.
We shared one soft drink with four friends from one bottle and NO ONE
actually died from this.
We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank Kool-aid made
with sugar but we weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS
OUTSIDE PLAYING!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day as long as we
were back when the streetlights came on.
No one was able to reach us all day. And we were okay.
We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then
ride down the hill only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running
into the bushes a few times we learned to solve the problem.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendos or X-boxes; no video games at
all, no 150 channels on cable, no movies or DVDs, no surround-
sound or CDs, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or
chat rooms. WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.
We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt and the worms did not live
in us forever.
We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays, made up games with
sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen,
we did not put out very many eyes.
We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door
or rang the bell or just walked in and talked to them!
Little League had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who
didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!
The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.
They actually sided with the law!
These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers,
problem solvers and inventors ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility and we learned
HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
If YOU are one of them, CONGRATULATIONS!
You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow
up as kids before the lawyers and the government regulated so much
of our lives for our own good.
While you are at it, share this with your kids so they will know how brave
(and lucky) their parents were.
Kind of makes you want to run through the house, doesn't it?
"With hurricanes, tornados, fires out of control, mud slides, flooding,
severe thunderstorms tearing up the country from one end to the other,
and with the threat of bird flu and terrorist attacks, are we sure this is a
good time to take God out of the Pledge of Allegiance?"
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